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Here at Rae’s Cafe, we can come up with countless reasons to drink coffee —namely because we have endless coffee products that are a great addition to any active lifestyle. But there are reasons beyond mere enjoyment and flavor, as many different studies are constantly showing. Here are five great reasons that adding a cup of coffee to your day is not only a pleasure, it’s good for you!

Coffee is a great source of antioxidants!
According to a 2005 study, Americans get more of their antioxidants from coffee than from any other dietary source — nothing else even comes close. The study also found that while many fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants, the human body seems to most readily absorb those found in coffee. Antioxidants are substances that help prevent the damaging effects of oxidation on cells throughout the body — so they are always a good thing!

One sniff = less stressIn addition to helping people to wake up each morning, simply the smell of coffee has been found to make people feel less stressed! Researchers at the Seoul National University examined the brains of rats who were stressed with sleep deprivation, and found that the rats that were exposed to coffee aroma experienced changes in the brain proteins tied to that stress. So next time you’ve had a sleepless night, a cup of coffee is definitely the answer!

Coffee can help protect the liverA 2006 study (which included 125,000 people over 22 years) found that people who drink at least one cup of coffee a day are 20% less likely to develop cirrhosis of the liver (an autoimmune disease caused by excessive alcohol consumption that could lead to liver failure and cancer). Similar studies have also shown that coffee can help prevent people from developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). So whether you are a whiskey connoisseur or a teetotaler, coffee can help protect your liver.

Coffee can help make you happier!A National Institute of Health study revealed that people who drink four or more cups of coffee per day were about 10% less likely to be depressed than those who had never touched the stuff. The study author, Honglei Chen, MD, PhD, stated that the reason coffee makes you feel good is thought to be because of those trusty antioxidants.

Coffee could help protect you from skin cancer.
A study at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School (which followed 112,897 men and women over a 20-year period) found that women who drink three or more cups of coffee a day are much less likely to develop skin cancer than those who don’t.

Ganoderma lucidum is a key ingredient in the Organo’s line of products that compliments the healthy lifestyle that is at the core of Rae’s way of life. At Organo, they use only the finest Ganoderma lucidum, creating a flavorless, invisible powder that adds amazing properties to everything from coffee and tea to personal care products.

Here are some facts about the incredible history of this truly incredible mushroom:

Ganoderma lucidum goes by many names. It is also known as the “Lingzhi” mushroom and the “Reishi” mushroom. The Chinese name, Lingzhi, means “spiritual potency”, while the Japanese name, Reishi, translates as “King of herbs.”The Vietnamese name for the Ganoderma mushroom, “linh chi,”literally means “supernatural mushroom.”

The botanical name, Ganoderma, derives from the Greek words ganos, which means, “shining”, and derma, which means, “skin”. This refers to the shiny exterior of the mushroom’s cap. The word Lucidum is also Latin for “shining.”

Ganoderma lucidum has a long and prestigious history — and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 2,000 years, making it one of the oldest mushrooms known to have been used medicinally.

Shi-Jean Lee —the most renowned doctor of the Ming Dynasty —strongly endorsed the effectiveness of Ganoderma in his renowned book Great Pharmacopoeia(Ban Chao Gang Moo). In it, he wrote, “long-term taking of Ganoderma will build a strong, healthy body and assure a long life.”

The proliferation of Ganoderma lucidum images in art began in 1400 AD, and they are often associated with Taoism. However, the mentions of the mushroom soon extended beyond religion.

The Ganoderma or “Lingzhi” mushroom was often mentioned in ancient Chinese texts such as medicinal and herbology books, and was featured in much artwork, including wood block prints in early mycology (the study of fungi) history books.

The first book wholly devoted to the description of herbs and their medicinal value was Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, written in the Eastern Han dynasty of China (25-220 AD). This book is also known as Classic of the Materia Medicaor Shen-nong’s Herbal Classics. It describes botanical, zoological, and mineral substances, and was composed in the second century under the pseudonym of Shen-nong (“the holy farmer”). The book, which has been continually updated and extended, describes the beneficial effects of several mushrooms with a reference to the medicinal mushroom Gandoerma lucidum. [1]

Ganoderma lucidum is a potent source of antioxidants. The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicinesays it contains one of the highest concentrations of antioxidants in any food.

Today is Small Business Saturday and in honor, Rae’s Cafe is giving YOU up to 40% off our line of gourmet coffees and teas! We’re also doing FREE shipping on orders over $50, just use coupon code: SHIP50. If you have any questions, please contact me through email or my business number on website. Have a wonderful holiday weekend!!!

The influence of the Cuban population is everywhere in Miami —in the culture, the food, the music, the nightlife and more. But one of the simplest ways to experience a taste of Cuba is to try a Cuban coffee. Known as Café Cubano or sometimes Cafecito, this drink is a distinctive molasses-sweet strong espresso—and it is the high-octane that fuels South Florida.

Here’s a primer on what to order when you want to sample a truly unique Miami experience that is a Cuban-style coffee:

Cafecito: This refers to an espresso shot which is sweetened (usually with natural brown sugar) as it is being brewed.

Colada: This refers to a larger cup of cafecito that comes with little thimble-sized cups for sharing with friends.

Cortadito: This is a shot of cafecito topped with steamed milk, and translates literally in Spanish as “small cut.”It is usually 75/25 espresso and milk.

Café con Leche: This is a shot of the Cuban espresso served with hot or steamed milk. Usually the milk is served separately, so the espresso can be poured into the milk at the desired strength. This is the traditional Cuban breakfast beverage, and is often served with pastries or toasted Cuban bread (perfect for dunking!).

With the vibrant energy of Miami, a quick shot of Cafe Cubano is a great way to stay energized, and also a wonderful way to strike up a conversation with locals — Cuban coffee is often served at walk-up windows known as “ventanitas”and enjoyed at the counter alongside fellow patrons!

Who doesn’t enjoy their latte that a little bit more when the barista goes to the trouble of adding a little heart-shaped or leaf-shaped swirl on the top of the foam? This is what’s known as latte art, and it has become an increasingly popular art form in cafes across the world in recent years. In fact, it’s pretty much standard practice for a latte or a cappuccino.

Here are a few fun facts about this art form, how it developed and how it’s done:

Latte art is a method of pouring steamed milk into a shot of espresso in a certain way, resulting in a pattern or design on the surface of the drink. It can also be created or embellished by simply “drawing” in the top layer of foam using a toothpick or similar implement.

These aforementioned methods are the two main types of latte art: free pouring (creating the pattern during the pour) and etching (using a tool to create a pattern after the pour).

Free pouring is far more common, and has resulted in the two most commonly seen latte art patterns —the heart shape and the rosetta, a fern-like design.

Latte art is made possible by the combination of the crema (which is an emulsion of coffee oil and brewed coffee) and the microfoam, which is a foam of air in milk.

David Schomer, the owner of Seattle’s Espresso Vivace coffee shop, is credited with bringing latte art to the forefront of coffee culture in the US.

Schomer credits the development of microfoam (“velvet foam” or “milk texturing”) to Jack Kelly of Seattle coffee shop Uptown Espresso in 1986.

Schomer worked on his technique of free-pouring the textured milk using the sides of the cup to form swirls and waves, and perfected the heart pattern by 1989. Then he saw the now popular rosetta pattern in a photo from a café in Italy in 1992, and worked for about six months perfecting the technique to create that design.

Today, free pouring latte art designs (such as the heart and the rosetta) have become pretty much standard practice when making drinks, and many baristas take part in international latte art competitions.

Coffee Art in OG showed its style in last year’s Organo Gold’s OGlicious Recipe Contest. In addition to fantastic coffee recipes, all the entries were compiled into a Holiday Cookbook in which proceeds go to OG’s charity – OG Cares.

It’s official — gone are the days of people thinking of coffee consumption as a “vice.” Recent scientific findings indicate that coffee can help you improve your performance at the gym! According to a recent study, those who enjoyed a cup of coffee prior to their workout burned more calories than those who didn’t.

The Spanish study, which was published in theInternational Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, found that trained athletes who took in caffeine pre-exercise burned about 15% more calories for three hours post-exercise, compared to those who ingested a placebo.

So just how much caffeine does it take to up one’s gym performance? The dose that triggered the effect was 4.5 mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight. For a 150-pound woman, that’s roughly 300mg of caffeine, the amount in about 12 ounces of brewed coffee, a quantity many people are already sipping each morning. The British Coffee Association was quick to support this pro-caffeine and exercise study, stating that “about two cups an hour prior to working out improves endurance will help you perform for 30% longer.”

This isn’t the first study that has demonstrated the positive effects of caffeine, which has been shown to help increase a person’s heart-rate, circulation and mental alertness— all positive things in a fitness environment.

So, why not make this new study your new motivation to hit the gym, take that walk around the lake, go on that bike ride or make it to that yoga class? Just whip up a 12 ounce cup of Rae’s Gourmet Black Coffee before you head out to really maximize your exercise performance.

They sure do love their coffee in Italy —it’s almost impossible to picture Italy without those small white espresso cups somewhere in the scene. To celebrate Italian coffee culture, we thought we’d take a look about the history and culture of the humble bean in this coffee-adoring country.

Espresso is regulated by the Italian government because it is considered an such essential part of Italian daily life.

Coffee is often drunk quickly, standing up at espresso bars in cities across Italy.

If your order “un caffè” in Italy, you’ll receive a shot of espresso.

Coffee was first introduced to Europe from Egypt through the Italian city of Venice, where a flourishing trade between the local businessmen and Arabs enabled a large variety of commodities and goods to be imported, including the precious new commodity that was coffee beans.

The first “caffe” reportedly opened in Venice in 1683, and soon became synonymous with comfortable atmosphere, conversation, and good food, adding romance and sophistication to the coffee-drinking experience.

It was two Italians who came up with that we know today as the espresso machine. First, in Turin, Italy in 1884, a man by the name of Angelo Moriondo lodged a patent for a “steam-driven instantaneous coffee beverage making device.” This patent is considered by many to be a precursor of the espresso coffee machine.

Then, in 1901, Milanese manufacturer Luigi Bezzera came up with some improvements to the espresso machine. He patented a number of these, the first of which was applied for on the 19th of December 1901. It was titled “Innovations in the machinery to prepare and immediately serve coffee beverage.” Bezzera was said to have come up with the idea in order to reduce the amount of time his factory workers spent on their coffee breaks!

An estimated 14 billion espresso coffees are consumed each year in Italy, and Italians consume approximately 8 pounds of coffee per capita, per year.

We’ve written before about some of the amazing health benefits of green tea — it can help with cardiovascular health, lower blood pressure, boost the immune system, promote longevity, fight against aging, improve brain function and concentration, and even help to ease anxiety. A recent study has also shown that green tea appears to boost the activity of DNA repair enzymes.

Researchers have long reported health benefits in green tea drinkers, but for this new study, Iris Benzie and her colleagues at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University monitored the activity of DNA repair enzymes in lymphocytes shortly after people drank a cup of green tea, and again after study participants had been drinking two cups of green tea each day for a week.

The team found that an enzyme (known as “hOGG1”) which is critical for fixing DNA damage from oxidation, and another enzyme that protects against such damage, were more active after the 16 study participants drank tea compared to when they drank just water.

The team also found 30 percent less DNA damage in lymphocytes 60 minutes after participants had drunk a cup of tea. According to Benzie, the finding “opens up a whole new avenue to look at the molecular mechanisms”of green tea’s effect on cells.

While only a preliminary study, these new findings again reveal that green tea is definitely beneficial, and there’s science to prove it. Thankfully, we love Organo’s Organic Green Tea so much, we don’t need science to tell us to drink more — but the data sure does help!

Not unlike in China, Malaysia has traditionally been more of a tea-drinking nation, but coffee has been on the rise, as coffee culture grows more popular, particularly amongst young professionals, and coffee shops are mushrooming up all across the country.

Here are some facts and figures about the the history and recent growth of coffee culture in Malaysia:

Traditional Malaysian coffee, called “kopi,” is for some an acquired taste. It is made by pouring boiling water through grounds held in a cloth “sock” or filter, and is thick, strong and bitter. Kopi can be drunk hot or iced, and is often mellowed with sweetened condensed milk.

Liberica, a coffee variety native to Africa that’s considered inferior in taste to arabica and robusta, is thought to have been introduced to the Malaysian peninsula in the 1800s. The plant is still cultivated in small numbers, mostly in the central and southern states of Selangor and Johor.

Malaysian kopi’s distinctive burnt flavor comes from the butter and sugar that the beans are roasted with.

Whatever today’s coffee connoisseurs might make of kopi, the traditional coffee beverage is a cherished part of Malaysian cultural heritage.

Kopi is served in “Kopitiam” (“tiam” is the Hokkien Chinese word for shop) — traditional Malaysian coffee shops that also serve Western dishes like toast and eggs, and Malaysian standards such as fried rice and noodles.

Since the early 2000s, an array of kopitiam-inspired coffee chains with nostalgia-inducing names have sprouted across the country.

In a February 2014 article in Business Insider Malaysia, it was reported that “the mushrooming of coffee shops has even spread to Southeast Asia, and very visibly in the past two years, in Kuala Lumpur.”

“Coffee shops are a rising star in the specialty eatery industry and the fastest growing niche in the restaurant business, elevating the taste by offering brewed coffee and specialty espresso drinks like cappuccinos and lattes,” the Business Insider Malaysiaarticle reported.

For those keen to experience Malaysian coffee culture first-hand, here’s a quick glossary of “kopi” and how to order this national beverage:

Kopi: hot coffee with sweetened condensed milk

Kopi O: hot coffee with sugar only

Kopi kosong: hot coffee with no sugar and no milk

Peng: added to any of the above will get you the said version in a glass, over ice

Kaow: added to any of the above will get you an extra strong cup (or glass).

It offers a seemingly simple natural sweetness to one of our favorite products, Organo Gold Black Ice, which of course is iced black tea flavored with natural honey. Yet there’s nothing simple — but everything natural — about honey. We thought we’d take a look the effort behind this miraculous ingredient.

To produce a single jar of honey, foraging honey bees have to travel the equivalent of three times around the world.

The average bee will produce only one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime!

Honey stored in an airtight container will never spoil. Sealed honey vats found in King Tut’s tomb still contained edible honey, despite over 2,000 years beneath the sands.

Honey bees have 170 odorant receptors, compared with only 62 in fruit flies and 79 in mosquitoes. Their sense of smell is so precise it can differentiate hundreds of different floral varieties, and tell whether a flower carried pollen or nectar from meters away.

A honey bee visits 50 to 100 flowers during a collection trip.

Bees must visit approximately two million flowers to make just one pound of honey.

The honey bee’s wing stroke is incredibly fast — about 200 beats per second, which is what produces their distinctive buzz. A honey bee can fly for up to six miles, and as fast as 15 miles per hour.

A colony of bees consists of 20,000-60,000 honeybees and one queen bee. Worker honey bees are female, live for about six weeks, and do all the work.

So — the next time you enjoy a refreshing cup of Black Ice, think about all of the effort that goes into making that tiny dash of honey that adds a lovely natural sweetness to this amazing beverage!